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Green minister spent £1,200 of taxpayers’ cash on boat trip

By Simon Johnson SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR

A GREEN minister in Humza Yousaf ’s Scottish government spent £1,200 of taxpayers’ money to charter a private boat to a Scottish island rather than pay £9.40 for the “pitiful” public ferry service, it has emerged.

A 42-passenger catamaran was chartered to take Lorna Slater, the circular economy minister, and seven other people to an official visit to Rum off the north-west coast of Scotland last month.

The Scottish Government said it would ensure the best value for taxpayers and allow Ms Slater to “maximise time on the island”.

But the Scottish Tories have disclosed the boat hire cost £1,200, compared with less than £10 for a return

‘She thought it appropriate to shun a ferry at less than a tenner a head to shell out £1,200 on a chartered boat’

ticket on a Calmac ferry. They said the decision was “tone deaf ” given islanders are forced to “make do with a pitiful ferry service” thanks to mass breakdowns in Scotland’s ageing ferry fleet.

Graham Simpson, the shadow transport minister, said: “Lorna Slater clearly has no shame. The government she’s a member of has created mayhem on Scotland’s ferry network … and yet she thought it appropriate to shun a Calmac ferry at less than a tenner a head return, to shell out £1,200 of public money on a chartered boat.”

Ms Slater visited Rum on Friday, May 12 to discuss the future of Kinloch Castle. She was accompanied by members of the Isle of Rum Community Trust and officials from the Scottish Government and the NatureScot agency.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The crossing was arranged by NatureScot, with the agreement of the Scottish Government, to maximise time on the island speaking to residents and fit with Ms Slater’s ministerial schedule.”

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2023-06-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-03T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph